Smart Phones. Or Not.
Don't ban smartphones in Australian high schools: here's why (and what we can do instead) By Jocelyn Brewer The recent announcement that Gaming Disorder (impaired control over gaming) will be included as an official diagnosis in The International Classification of Disease, Eleventh Revision followed hot on the heels of the announcement that the use of mobile devices in NSW schools will be reviewed. As quickly as we become enraptured by the possibilities of tech, we start to question its place in (every crevice) of our lives, especially in the lives of our kids. While smartphones may pose an unnecessary difficulty in primary schools, I believe the proposal to ban smartphones in Australian high schools would be a backward move that ignores key research. If there is potentially harmful activity, such as bullying, happening in schools, banning phones will most likely drive the behaviours further underground and perhaps into more devious corners. It would be far more...